Needless to say, it has been a tough couple of weeks for some of our friends south of the Mason-Dixon line. From the recent Supreme Court ruling to the extended absence of college football, things have not been going well – but they are about to get a lot worse.
After a 36-3 vote, the South Carolina Senate has given its official okay to begin the removal of the Confederate Flag’s presence in the Statehouse, and the bill, furthermore, was reviewed the South Carolina House of Representatives, where it was sent straight to the floor for a second reading and debate after a 93-18 vote to do so. It will be further reviewed tomorrow morning.
What does this all mean for the fate of the Confederate Flag, the Rebel Flag, the Dixie Flag, or whatever name that you want to give it? It means your Uncle Cletus better start praying.
Following the horrific shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, the effort to remove the flag caught fire due to the gunman, Dylan Roof’s, fondness of it. Roof actively used it as a symbol of his racial outrage and hatred.
But here’s the issue: according to a recent CNN survey, 57% of people simply view it as an expression of southern pride.
The rally cry to keep the flag around has caught fire at a similar rate, if not even faster than, the cry to remove it. Despite this, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the flag’s days are numbered, and with good reason.
Most of you probably did not expect this opinion from me, given the fact that well, I am one of those “friends south of the Mason-Dixon line” that I mentioned earlier, or at least I was, but here is the thing: a comparatively small group ruined it for everyone, plain and simple.
There are a whole lot of people who genuinely, and harmlessly, view the flag as a simple expression of southern pride and a constant reminder of how far we have come as a nation. That’s how I tend to see it as well. Unfortunately, though, many are still attached to its history involving slavery and the Confederacy in a much more negative light, using it as a rally cry to return to the past, rather than learn from it.
And the people that are the most negative usually are the loudest and easiest to hear.
Then there are those who, with good reason, just want it gone because it represents too many painful scars embedded within our nation’s history. Not to say they want the memories forgotten, but an omission of ignorant “pride of the past” would help.
It’s come to a point where being sensitive to the needs of our nation’s well-being is much more important than hanging on to some relic from the past.
Those people that use it as an outlet for racial hatred are always going to be around, but let’s leave them with one less weapon to use.
By Turner Smith